It seems unlikely but in this extraordinarily volatile election season, anything is possible. Ron Paul has surged into second place in Iowa, ahead of Mitt Romney and just 7 points behind frontrunner Newt Gingrich. Andrew McDowell at IBD asks the question: Can Ron Paul win? Elderly, iconoclastic Rep. Ron Paul, the longtime champion of meaningless straw polls, is now doing it where it counts in the ongoing struggle for the Republican presidential nomination. A brand-new Iowa Poll, just published by the Des Moines Register, reports the often-dismissed 76-year-old Paul has surged past one-time front-runner Mitt Romney and moved into second place, with his sights set on the current front-runner Newt Gingrich. According to the new poll results, Gingrich leads the pack at 25% of likely caucus-goers with less than a month until they're held. Paul is second with 18% and Romney now trails with 16%. [...] Romney has not been working to win in Iowa, having been spanked into second place there...(Read Full Post)